MH 9-month 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training

/

9-Month Yoga Teacher Training Program

Yoga Alliance-Certified 240-Hour
Yoga Teacher Training & Advanced Yoga Studies

Our 9-month program is an immersive, weekend-based journey for those who want to deepen their practice—or step confidently into teaching. Over nine months, you’ll experience nine enriching retreats that balance study, sangha, and real-world application, all led by our seasoned senior faculty.

Program Overview

  • Join a small cohort for nine weekend intensives—perfect for work-life balance.

  • Learn in a supportive cocoon of study, connection, and practice.

  • Absorb dynamic content first introduced in 2008 and refined by experienced teachers.

  • Graduate ready to teach multiple styles and levels or simply transform your own practice.

Who Should Attend

  • Aspiring teachers ready to find their authentic voice

  • Dedicated practitioners seeking depth, transformation, and community

Register early and save $200

 

I highly recommend this program for anyone working on self-development with or without a desire to teach yoga. I almost wish it was called, "Self Discovery with a Yoga Teacher Certification".
~ Andrea, 2024 graduate

 

Three Modules of the 9-Month Program

2026 - 2027 Schedule

Location: Mendota Heights

Orientation: August 20, 2025, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Module One – Foundation

September 18 - 20 | October 16 - 18 | November 20 - 22

  • Yoga History, philosophy, and lifestyle

  • Pranayama techniques for breath mastery

  • Meditation practices to deepen awareness

Module Two – Asanas

January 15 - 17 | February 19 - 21 | March 19 - 21

  • Alignment, safe movement patterns, and benefits of basic and advanced asana (yoga poses)

  • Anatomy essentials (physical and energetic)

  • How to read bodies

  • Verbal and hands-on adjustment skills

Module Three – The Teacher

April 16 - 18 | May 14 - 16 | June 18 - 20

  • Building respectful, inclusive class communities

  • Sequencing balanced, inspiring classes

  • Ethics, working in the yoga landscape, studio-ownership essentials, and business tools

  • Practice teaching in a supportive environment

Training Hours:
Friday: 6 - 9 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

 

I've been involved in physical fitness all my life.  Football, weight-lifting, running, Tae Kwon Do, and Kung Fu. A good friend suggested I try yoga. Fifteen minutes into the class I realized yoga was my calling. Within a week I found Green Lotus. I knew I was home. After two years of practice I decided to become an instructor.  Green Lotus's instructors are very professional and give you the one-on-one support to help you become a true yogi. My yoga journey at Green Lotus has fulfilled me physically, mentally, and spiritually.
~ Todd J.

 

Personalized Support & Community

  • Assigned senior-faculty mentor for guidance and feedback

  • Small-group setting fosters lasting bonds with peers and instructors

  • Detailed training manual for years of ongoing reference

 

Certification

  • 180 contact hours + 60 non-contact hours = 240 total hours

  • Meets Yoga Alliance 200-hour RYT requirements

  • Licensed by the State of Minnesota Higher Education

200-Hour Teacher Training Faculty

Featured
Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Merry Beth is director of Green Lotus' Yoga Alliance-certified school and a senior faculty member. She has been practicing yoga since 2000. She found the physical asana practice to be the perfect transition for her aging body that could no longer tolerate a classical ballet practice. She taught ballet for more than 15 years, then she began teaching Body Flow, Pilates, and yoga in 2002. Merry Beth also has experienced the more subtle benefits of yoga; it has given her the strength and balance to navigate a full-time career in corporate America and to raise her children into adulthood. Now the sole owner of Green Lotus, she devotes her time to teaching and supporting the business. 

Marcia Appel, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Marcia Appel, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Marcia, senior faculty member of Green Lotus's school, says yoga deepens her connection to herself and to others. Marcia encourages all students to try many class styles and deeply believes that yoga asana (poses) are an extension and beautiful expression of breath and meditation. In May 2013, she completed a two-year study of the integration of yoga and mindfulness meditation at Spirit Rock Retreat Center in California. The faculty included Dr. Richard Miller, Anne Cushman, Janice Gates, Mark Coleman, and Phillip Moffett. Her other certifications include Judith Lasater’s Relax & Renew® (restorative yoga), Baptiste Power Vinyasa (Level One), and iRest ® Level One (Yoga Nidra).

Dawn Schaefer Stumpf, C-IAYT, BS, MS, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Dawn Schaefer Stumpf, C-IAYT, BS, MS, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Dawn (she/her) is an MS-licensed educator and a 500-hour Green Lotus–certified yoga teacher with additional credentials in Yoga Therapy, Functional Yoga Therapy, Sound Healing, Reiki, Mindfulness for Schools, and Lifeforce Yoga for Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma. She teaches yoga history, philosophy, and pranayama in Green Lotus’s 240-hour YTT. She offers Body-Mind Therapy (also called Yoga Therapy) private instruction for adults and children, including those with special needs such as autism and ADHD. She co-authored Journal of an ADHD Kid with her son, Tobias. Dawn is guided by the mantra lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, which translates to “May all beings be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way.”

Elizabeth Heffernan, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Elizabeth Heffernan, E-RYT 500, YACEP

Elizabeth discovered the gentleness, grace, and ease of yoga after retiring from the dance world due to an injury. Yoga provided the ideal transition from rigorous training to a gentle and desirable style of physical movement within a discipline that brought sustenance not only to her body, but also to her heart and soul. Liz teaches all styles of yoga at Green Lotus and is also available for private instruction.

Christine Quam, E-RYT 200, RYT 500
Christine Quam, E-RYT 200, RYT 500

Christine Quam has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years. She received a Master’s of Art in Psychology from Duquesne University. The philosophical studies she encountered there eventually led her to complete the teacher training program at Green Lotus Yoga and Healing Center in 2016. Christine’s passion for physical movement combined with meditation have led her to complete additional yoga training in Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga, Kids Yoga, East Meets West Anatomy, Mindfulness Meditation, and Ayurveda. Possessing this broad yoga foundation allows Christine to offer vibrant, focused, safe, fun, and creative yoga classes within varying environments and to a variety of demographics.

Amy Dirksen
Amy Dirksen

Amy Dirksen has combined her passion for wellness, for service to others, and for business by operating Green Lotus in Eden Prairie, Minnesota from 2015 - 2024. A former marketing executive for a national banking company, she also has many years of experience in teaching fitness and yoga classes in the Y system and at Green Lotus. She gives attention to students' individuals needs and is adept at adapting poses to make yoga accessible to as many people as possible. As a former owner of the Eden Prairie Green Lotus and our first license, Amy brings new insight and energy, laughter, and care to her current role as multi-center manager and to Green Lotus's its mission of integrated wellness. She lives in Eden Prairie with her wonderful husband and son (The Dude).

Jen Phillips, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP
Jen Phillips, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP

On her mat, Jen began a journey that was transformative and character-building. She found strength in the body through physical practice, strength in her breath through pranayama, and strength in her mind through meditation and yoga's teachings. She teaches a comprehensive list of yoga formats and meditation. Jen has been lecturing and leading 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings and continuing education in Chicago, Minneapolis, Orange County, and globally via Zoom since 2010.

Would you like to discuss training with a faculty member?

This is such a holistic and carefully thought-out program. You can feel the love and commitment the instructors have to this beautiful practice. I feel completely prepared to enter the world as a yoga teacher and safely lead folks in their own personal practices.
~ Maria, 2021 graduate

 

Pricing and Payment Options

A $300 deposit secures your spot.
Save $200 - pay in full 30 days before the first day of training

What’s Included

  • 240 hours of training (180 contact + 60 non-contact)

  • 20% retail and 10% book discounts during training

  • 10% off post-grad CEU classes

  • 16 free Green Lotus classes plus exclusive discount on unlimited yoga membership

  • 400-page training manual

  • Access to 100+ training videos

  • CPR certification

Payment Options*

  • Early -bird discount: pay in full 30 days before training starts, $3100

  • Pay in full, $3300

  • Automatic monthly payments: $300 deposit plus $300 per month for 10 months

  • Pay by module: $300 deposit plus three payments of $1000

*Required books (outside the manual) are extra. Training may qualify for state-funded worker-retraining programs - contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services or a state unemployment office for assistance. Prices are for cash/check/ACH; an additional 3% fee added for credit card payments.

Required Books and Materials

  • Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope

  • The Best Guide to Meditation by Victor N. Davich

  • The Yoga Anatomy Coloring Book by Kelly Solloway and Samantha Stutzman

  • Devotion by Dani Shapiro

Our Vision

Green Lotus welcomes both dedicated practitioners and aspiring teachers into a supportive, small‐group environment.

Personalized Mentorship

  • Small cohorts ensure close bonds with peers and faculty

  • Each student is paired with a senior instructor as a personal adviser

Accessible, Authentic Curriculum

  • Original content crafted for every learning style—reading, hands-on practice, or video review

  • A comprehensive training manual you’ll reference for years

  • Graduates leave ready to teach multiple yoga styles at any level

Transformation Through Self-Inquiry

We guide you toward personal growth, encouraging reflection and discovery that spark lasting change.

Flexible Formats, Same Exceptional Training

Choose the schedule that fits your life. We have 9-month, 6-month, and summer immersion formats.